Arizona Theatre Company and Artistic Director Sean Daniels will partner with Florida Studio Theatre in developing a new play, “Tampa,” as part of The Playwrights Project, FST’s newly launched artistic initiative featuring 32 of the nation’s top playwrights, sketch comedy writers, and musical theatre developers. For more information about… Read more »
Posts By PHYLLIS BRAUN - AJP Executive Editor
Ethan Domnik Glassey
Ethan Domnik Glassey, son of Lauren and Eric Glassey, will celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah on June 13, 2020 with Temple Emanu-El via Zoom and Facebook Live. He is the grandson of Judy Thomas of Tucson and Stan and Lori Thomas of Rockville, MD. Ethan attends Marana Middle School,… Read more »
Sunscreen tops list for hot weather skin care
If you’ve ever noticed how thirsty you get when it’s hot outside, that’s because your body’s natural water content evaporates more quickly in warm weather. It’s not just your mouth that gets parched, however; your entire body, including your skin, can feel the impact of climbing temperatures. Skin is… Read more »
Ralph Duchin
Ralph Charles Duchin, 88, of Tucson, Arizona, and Houston, Texas, died May 25, 2020. Mr. Duchin was born in New York City to the late Minnie and Jacob Duchin. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School and Brooklyn College and completed his master’s degree in geology from the Jackson School… Read more »
Robert Lewkowitz
Robert “Bob” Lewkowitz, 87, died May 23, 2020. Mr. Lewkowitz was born in Brooklyn, New York, on Aug. 17, 1932 to Arthur and Marian Lewkowitz. He graduated from New York University in 1954 with a degree in accounting, later becoming a Certified Public Account. Mr. Lewkowitz moved the family… Read more »
Undeterred by COVID-19, couple plans Israeli wedding in less than 24 hours
Nina Abrahams and Amit Bigler knew the coronavirus pandemic would have an impact on their wedding, which was already taking place in Israel, far from their home in New York. But they didn’t expect to have their guest list whittle down from 330 to about 20 — and for those… Read more »
In Memoriam – Sidney Hellring
Sid Hellring, made in 1927 on July 8, and spirited in 2019 on June 21, remains in our hearts and fond memories. We have the history of our lives together. He left us with many photos, movies, slides, writings, and poems to recall our celebrations, our visits, our fun.… Read more »
Stop using Israel as an excuse not to support Black Lives Matter
This story originally appeared on Alma. Take a moment and remember where you were when you first heard about the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. I was in Tel Aviv getting ready to go to the movies after Havdalah. I didn’t end up going —… Read more »
Thanks from Strauss Manor to the Tucson community
I would like to express our appreciation for the incredible donations of DVDs, CDs, yarn, hygiene items, coloring books, colored pencils, etc. to everyone who donated to our residents at B’nai B’rith Strauss Manor during this pandemic. The love and compassion everyone showed and the response was amazing. Our… Read more »
Bighorn Fire Evacuation and pets
For those under evacuation orders — currently north of Ina Road from 1st Avenue to Alvernon Road — there is a Facebook group for people looking for/offering pet and livestock shelter. Sign up for the Pima County Emergency Alert Notification system. Stay safe, everyone!… Read more »
White Jews have been able to flee to the suburbs. Black Americans largely could not. Here’s why that matters today.
CLEVELAND (JTA) — I turned on my phone and felt an overwhelming sense of frustration, sadness and hopelessness. While I had been enjoying two days without electronics in observance of Shavuot and Shabbat, cities across the country were engulfed in a combination of civic protests and police riots. Weapons… Read more »
Trump authorizes sanctions against International Criminal Court and blasts its investigation of Israel
(JTA) — President Donald Trump authorized sanctions against the International Criminal Court should it pursue cases against U.S. citizens and cited what he said was its anti-Israel bias. In an executive order issued Thursday, Trump approved economic sanctions and travel restrictions against ICC workers directly involved in investigating American… Read more »
Israel’s Supreme Court strikes down law allowing expropriation of Palestinian land for settlement outposts
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s Supreme Court struck down a 2017 law that would allow the expropriation of private Palestinian land on which illegal outpost homes were built. The ruling issued Tuesday in an 8-1 decision said the law “infringes on property rights and equality for Palestinian residents, and places… Read more »
Israeli COVID-19 deaths reach 300 as resurgence of virus follows reopening
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The number of deaths from the coronavirus in Israel reached 300 as a resurgence of COVID-19 followed the reopening of schools and many businesses. In recent days, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has topped 100 after it had been tamped down to under 20.… Read more »
In a dramatic shift, AIPAC gives lawmakers a green light to criticize Israel over annexation
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The leading pro-Israel lobby in the United States is telling lawmakers that they are free to criticize Israel’s looming annexation plans — just as long as the criticism stops there. Two sources — a congressional aide and a donor — say the American Israel Public Affairs… Read more »
Patty Vallance, extraordinary community volunteer, dies at 62
The Southern Arizona Jewish community lost one of its most energetic and beloved volunteers when Patty Vallance, 62, died June 3, 2020. “We lost a one-of-a-kind force for good,” Stuart Mellan, former president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, wrote on Facebook. “She wore her Jewish… Read more »
Veterans Affairs department to reverse course and replace tombstones that have swastikas
(JTA) — The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it will begin the process of replacing three gravestones bearing swastikas in cemeteries in Texas and Utah, less than a month after saying they would be preserved as “historic resources.” The VA told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last month that… Read more »
Slow down annexation process, Jared Kushner and other US officials tell Netanyahu
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a conference call with Jared Kushner and other top White House officials to discuss slowing down West Bank annexation plans, an Israeli TV station reported. Channel 13 in its report Monday cited an unnamed senior Israeli source that the Trump… Read more »
130 Jewish groups, ‘outraged’ by George Floyd killing, pledge to fight systemic racism
(JTA) — Dozens of American Jewish groups have pledged to work to end systemic racism in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis. In a statement Tuesday, 130 organizations said they were “outraged” by the killing of Floyd, a black man who died in police custody last… Read more »
Hundreds of Israelis, angry with police violence at home, protest the George Floyd killing in Tel Aviv
TEL AVIV (JTA) — As Kielahtiel Barton stood across from the former American embassy here, on a sidewalk next to a downtown beach, a large crowd around her chanted slogans calling for racial equality. “Why am I here? I’m black as hell and my skin color is the first… Read more »